High Stakes
by alyssialui
Summary: Tom has met his match. Bellamort. Casino!AU.


_A/N: Tom has met his match. Bellamort. Casino!AU._

_Submission for:_

_**The Pirate Ship Battles: Second Mate** \- Bellamort: __Gifts wrapped in Red. Prompts: sauce, poker, stomach, socks, shark_

_**Open Category Competition 2: **Casino!AU_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter._

* * *

Tom let a small smile grace his lips as the dealer slid another stack of red and black chips across the table towards him. Couple that with the old geezer who looked like he was falling apart and the blonde haired American whose female companion was getting more upset with his losses than he was, Tom was having a good night.

He took a sip of his drink as the dealer began to shuffle the cards. He wouldn't say he had a gambling addiction but there was something to be said about the high of winning and making fools of others, and it was definitely easy to win when you could slip into their minds to read their cards.

"Anyone sitting here?" a woman asked as she took the empty seat on his left. He cast a quick glance out the corner of his eye, taking in her lovely red dress which fell over her red-heeled feet and clung to her body like a second skin. Her heavy-lidded eyes drunk him in as well and he gave her a smirk. He knew he was attractive. Many women often threw themselves at him, especially when he decided to dress for the occasion. But instead of the expected flutter of eyelashes and horrible pick-up lines, the woman gave a tiny scoff before she tapped the table for the dealer to deal her in. He turned forward as well. Her opinion of him was the least of his worries. He just hoped her money was good. There were a lot of women who dressed like millions but were barely hundreds.

He picked up his cards and placed his blind bet while watching the table. The geezer had an adequate pair so far, but he was not feeling as confident sitting with Tom at the table any more. He looked up for a moment then quickly back into his cards upon noticing Tom's intense gaze. The American had two face-cards and was looking at his date hopefully, however she simply pursed her lips and looked about the floor, having lost complete faith in him. Then Tom looked towards the woman in red. Her unruly black hair fell across her face as she stared intently at her cards, her red lined lips puckered in thought. But when Tom tried to read her, his mind came upon a brick wall.

'An Occlumens,' he thought, masking his surprise with a slight sneer. Another wizard-folk who frequented Muggle gaming lounges? It was rare for him to meet one like himself, especially one skilled enough to resist his powers.

She looked up from her cards and gave him a long stare before she scoffed again. Did she know? Was she challenging him?

"Is there something on my face?" she asked, lifting a hand across her smooth unmarred cheek.

He shook his head and said, "Not at all." He liked challenges.

The dealer burnt the first card before turning over a black Ace, a red seven and a red eight. The geezer continued the game, as did the American, but then the woman slid a small stack of chips forward.

He tried again to read her hand but was met with the same brick wall. He sputtered a bit, a heavy feeling forming in his stomach. He was used to be in charge during these games and all it took was one woman in red to throw him off?

"Are you going to play something?" she asked, leaning a bit towards him in her seat.

He looked down at his hand, a red three and a black ten. These were hardly winning cards but as he had learnt, anything could happen in this game and he would not let this woman get the better of him.

He slid his own stack of chips forward to match her own, just as the geezer and the American folded their hands.

The dealer burnt a card then came the turn, another burn, and then the river.

He turned his hand over - a straight, six to ten - one of the better hands in the game, and then waited for the woman to reveal her own hand.

She looked at her own cards and then smiled before turning her own. A flush of red hearts.

The dealer pushed the stack of chips towards and she gave Tom a wicked grin. "Looks like luck is on my side tonight," she said.

* * *

Time had passed at the poker table. The old geezer had run out of money and the American's date eventually left with another gentleman when his wallet had emptied as well. Many other patrons sat and left the table in that time, including a man that trusted his life savings on the magic of his lucky red socks, but they all had their money being taken by Tom and the lovely woman on his right.

Where had she learnt to be such a card shark? It was obvious this was not her first time in a casino as she swept the table easily. Even he had to admit he was being challenged sufficiently, having to rely on his instinct and other face-reading abilities instead of peeking into her mind.

She also wasn't above using her feminine wiles to her advantage. There were little things she would do that would mess with the heads of the other men who joined the table - the knitted brow, the puckered lips, a slip of her dress off her shoulder. He had spotted them for what they were but that didn't make them much easier to resist.

A young couple were sent off the table with dejected shoulders, the woman telling her husband that it would be better for them to quit while they were ahead. If only she had known the dirty thoughts her husband had been having about the lovely woman in red beside him lying on her back on the table and a bottle of hot sauce.

However, that left him and the woman in red alone. She took a drag off the cigarette she had lit and blew the acrid smoke into his face with a sly smile. "You're definitely something," she said. "I've been trying all night to get you out of your seat."

He waved the smoke away from his face. "It's going to take a lot more than that, Miss-"

"Black," she said, blowing another cloud in his direction. She kicked her legs under the table, leaning forward on her crossed arms. The dip of her dress was alluring, the top of her bosom on display for the whole floor to see. Another trick.

"Well, Miss Black," he said as he looked away from her supple form, "There are still a few more hours left of this night, so that should give you ample more opportunities, though I think none will be fruitful."

She narrowed her eyes. "Then how about we make this a bit more interesting, Sir?" she asked, flipping her hair over her shoulder. Another one of her tricks he had picked up on, revealing her pale neck to him, an act to seem more vulnerable and defenceless but something he had learnt she was anything but.

"What do you have in mind, Miss Black?" Tom asked as he downplayed her move yet unable to keep the curiosity out of his voice. She was attractive, devastatingly so. She was a mastermind, a temptress and a manipulator and though he tried to resist her wiles, he was slowly falling into her whether he liked it or not. She had been an exciting mystery all night and he wondered what her mind could come up with.

"We both go all in on this hand," she said as she signalled to the dealer to deal. "Winner takes all."

Tom laughed. "I thought you would put up something a bit more valuable, Miss Black."

"Such as?" she asked.

He wagged a finger at her as he picked up his cards. "We'll keep that part a secret." He looked into his hand, a pair of black sevens. Not bad. "Do we have a deal?" he asked as he pushed his tall stack of chips forward. With what he had in mind, he was sure this was worth it.

She looked into her own hand and then gave him a nod, pushing her own stack over. Her face flashed for a moment with an expression of fear and worry but not fast enough for him to miss it. He grinned, the feeling of power and control returning to him once more.

The dealer burnt the necessary cards and played the flop, the turn and the river.

She let out a small sound of relief though her uncertainty had not completely left her. She bit her lip as she revealed her hand, a flush of red hearts. Tom chuckled as he revealed his own.

"A full house," she breathed as the dealer slid the pot towards him. He accepted graciously before she asked, "So what was your secret wager?"

He rose from the table, slipping the chips into the small bag provided by the casino and held an arm out to the her. "The most valuable thing at this table. I have never had a more entertaining time than I had tonight and have never met a woman like you before. You are beautiful beyond compare yet a devil in disguise, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. You are the true prize tonight, a gift wrapped in red. Miss Black, would you like to accompany me to dinner?"

She looked between his face and his offered arm before she gave him a wide smile and took it. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were reading my mind," she said.


End file.
